Within the Heart
by kaya's window
Summary: Ren and Yoh lead peaceful lives as regular high school students. However, with the return of an old friend, Hao, they find him changed just as their lives are about to be. HaoRen
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King

Teaser: Ren and Yoh lead peaceful lives as regular high school students. However, with the return of an old friend, Hao, they find him changed just as their lives are about to be. HaoRen

Note: This is AU as in it's taking place in a different setting. In this world there will be no shaman fights and no shaman powers. They are all regular school kids. You can think of furyoku as the equivalent of academic intelligence. Well, except for Manta. So following that Ren will be quite smart and so is Yoh, except that he doesn't try because he's too lazy. And Hao…you should know where Hao stands.

Within the Heart

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The fifteen year old boy leaned out his classroom window. "It's such a nice day today nee, Ren," a second boy said casually and joined Ren by the window. "Yoh," Ren watched the boy lower his gigantic headphones to his shoulders and lazily lean on the window sill. It was no surprise for Ren. Where ever he was, Yoh was never far behind. The two have always been together.

Ren stretched his arms and let out a sigh. "Finally the exams are over." He settled his arms back on the metal of the window and let a smile form on his face. "You can say that again," Yoh said with a hint of relief. His grin grew wider on his face. The two boys, clad in the white shirts of their school uniform, breathed in the fresh noon air.

"So, your brother's finally coming home soon?"

"Yeah…you're coming over after school to see him, right?"

"Uh huh, it's been such a long time since we've been together."

Memories flashed in Ren's mind of the times he, Yoh and his brother Hao had spent together. The memories were fond. The three knew each other since they were small and have always been inseparable, at least not until Hao went away to boarding school. It's been a year already since they last saw him.

"I can't wait." The smile grew on Ren's face.

"Yeah, me neither."

"What are you two so happy about?"

The two boys turned around. From the classroom's doorway their friend Horohoro glared at them with disbelief. He marched across the classroom heatedly. "Didn't you see the grades for the exams!" he shouted and pointed at the hallway. A large bulletin board with all the students' names and grades were set up outside this morning. There were students huddled before it all day.

The blue haired boy suddenly wailed, turning from angry to loudly sad in an instant, and latched onto Yoh's pant leg. "A 32! I got a 32 on the exam! Pillica's gonna kill me!" he cried.

"There, there." The ever sympathetic Yoh reached down and patted Horohoro on the back. Ren on the other hand let out a loud 'hmph'. "How pathetic," he said arrogantly. "Why you!" Horohoro instantly jumped to his feet. He stuck his face at Ren's and screamed, "Hey! I don't need this from you. Especially not right now!" He spun around dejectedly, crossing his arms in a pout.

"You never treat Yoh this way. Yoh got a 31!"

Yoh laughed, defeated. He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Oh, you found out…heh heh…" But he was completely ignored by the two.

"That's because you still got a failing grade even though your sister trains you so hard," Ren continued in his cold tone. "Yoh, on the other hand, does not study and he still got the same grade as you!"

His face dropping again, Horohoro defended weakly, "He's still a point lower…" The blue haired boy fell to his bottom and remained there on the floor.

"Man, I don't get it. You only treat Yoh so nicely and you treat everyone else like trash."

Yoh shook Horohoro who had reduced himself to a depressed ball. "Don't be like that Horohoro-kun." A short boy named Manta looked up at Horohoro. He had slipped into the classroom and approached them when they weren't looking. Even though Horo was now crouching, Manta still had to look up because he was so short.

"Oh, Manta!" Yoh cried delightfully. Aside from Ren, Manta was known as Yoh's best friend in the school. It was charming how two so different were able to get along so nicely.

"Hi everyone!" Manta raised a hand as he grinned.

"Did you see your grade yet?" Yoh asked.

"Yeah…" Manta replied then a coy grin grew on his face. "I also saw your grade." At that, Yoh began to laugh as well, rubbing his head again. "So how did you do?" he asked Manta. "I did okay. All that cram school made it work I guess…" Suddenly, Manta looked up at Ren, entire face lighting up. He announced, "But more importantly, I saw Ren-kun's grade!" Hearing his name being mentioned, Ren turned to look at them, arms still half rested on the window sill like he was ready to turn back case they didn't really need him. Ren didn't like to interrupt when Yoh talked to his friends.

Manta stared up at him with a shocked expression, but just before any words came from his mouth, someone else beat him to it. "Ren-kun, did you know? You got the highest score out of the whole class of freshmen," said a green-haired boy approaching them from the doorway. The girls of their class swooned as he passed by. Lyserg was a member of the student council. As a first-year, getting chosen to be on the council was a great feat and it struck the hearts of many.

"So what," Ren said in a dismissed tone. He turned his body back so that he was leaning out the window again. Hiding under the sunlight, a shy blush had formed on his cheeks.

"But it's incredible!" Manta added enthusiastically. "You did so well even though you skipped a grade." The blush grew redder on Ren's face by the moment. One could tell he both enjoyed the attention and not.

"Hey, what do you want here?" Horohoro stood up and put himself between Lyserg and were he was heading towards Ren. He frowned and seemed to growl like an animal protecting his territory. Lyserg immediately stopped in his tracks. He had dealt with Horo before and realized the boy was no longer too fond of him, or any members of the council, not ever since they had rejected Horohoro's idea of building a snowboarding course for the school festival.

"Oh, are you still brooding over that?" Lyserg looked apologetically at Horo. They could all tell the look was feigned. The snow loving teen continued to glare at Lyserg, urging him to answer his question. Lyserg sighed. "Oh, nothing…it's just that as a student who also skipped a grade and a peer of Ren-kun's, I just wanted to come over and say congratulations." And there was the other part of the reason for his popularity; being much younger, girls from the upper grades loved treating him like their little brother. They loved walking him home, buying him things, swooning at how cute he is, etc.

Ren stared blankly at Lyserg. In fact, the whole speech didn't put much emotion on any of the faces. It may be the businessman-like tone Lyserg had on that caused them to not buy it or it may have been the many attempts Lyserg had tried at Ren. Horohoro stomped his feet impatiently on the floor. "Yeah right!" he shouted. "You're just trying to lure him into your stupid little council. Give it up!"

"Hey!" The usually calm council member yelled back uncharacteristically. Horo's words had hit a string. Landing a palm on his chest, Lyserg declared, "Our council only makes decisions that are just under the guidance of Jeanne-sama. We let others join us of their own free will, never force them!"

"If you make decisions that are just then why didn't you let me build the snowboarding course!"

Lyserg let out a frustrated sigh and began to explain. "Horohoro-kun, your course was too big for the school grounds to handle. There's no way the council could've approved it." The green haired boy thought that he had made it clear but instead of calmly accepting, Horohoro shouted, "There's never a way in the council!"

The two broke into argument as Manta desperately tried to mediate them. Ren quietly pushed himself off the window sill and soundlessly slid to the backdoor where he let himself out of the room. Yoh noticed and threw Manta a quick 'let them be' in a joking voice before following Ren out the door. He trotted to catch up to Ren and when he did he called out to let him know.

"Hey Ren!" The purple-haired boy turned around then stopped to let Yoh come up beside him. They walked side-by-side down the noisy hallway. After a while Ren announced, "I'm thinking of getting some curry bread. Hao really liked those."

"Yeah," Yoh's eyes lit up. "Remember how he used to eat those everyday when we were in middle school? The only time he didn't eat them was when the cafeteria ran out. Even then, he'd sneak out of school to get them." They let out a chuckle and Yoh continued, "And remember the time Fuji-sensei caught him trying to sneak back into History class through the window?" Ren finished for him, "He made Hao do the invisible chair for the rest of the day!"

They chuckled happily. Memories of the times they had together poured into their minds. They couldn't wait to go home.

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So, what do you think? Another shot at an angst fic. This time I'm trying to write a long multi-chapter one. I like long fics. They're just hard to write.

Be sure to stay with me as more of the story unfolds!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King

Note: I made some changes again. In this story, Anna is an academic year younger than the boys. So since the boys are in their first year of high school that makes Anna in her last year of middle school.

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Within the Heart

They rushed in a frenzy through the streets; Yoh made a mad dash with Ren following in tow. At first they weren't running, but anticipation caused them to quicken their pace gradually until they were sprinting.

"Hurry up you slow poke!"

"What do you mean? You're the one that's running behind me!" Yoh called over his shoulder.

"That's because you're not carrying the bread!" Ren rationalized the small bag to be his handicap. "Fine!" Yoh held out his hand, offering to carry the bag. Seeing the hand, Ren shoved the bag towards it, but he shoved so hard that all the napkins came flying out onto the street. "Hey!" Yoh immediately stopped to pick up the mess, but Ren just sprinted off. He continued ahead, ignoring his friend's loudly cursing him.

He ran as fast as he could until he reached the familiar gates of the Asakura home. He sped through the front yard and threw open the front door. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw what was before him. On the raised platform of the Japanese home stood a boy with features unmistakably the same as Yoh's except his hair was longer and his expression more composed. The boy had a shocked look on his face. He looked like he was just passing by the hallway at the very moment Ren flew in.

The purple-haired boy dropped his book bag on the floor. "Hao!" he cried, his face began scrunching up with tears. Yoh appeared behind him just as Ren launched himself at Hao, throwing an arm around his shoulder in a buddy-like fashion. When Yoh saw this he too shuffled to throw down his things and did the same. Sandwiched between two of his closest friends, Hao did the only right thing; he laughed along with them. They ruffled each other's hair and pointed and chuckled at each other. Hao's laughter sounded a bit restrained, but neither of the two friends noticed.

It wasn't until a good 5 minutes when Anna walked over to tell them to shut the front door and come inside did the three disarm each other and proceed into the house. They stepped through the Asakura home smiling and grinning the remainder of their last bout of laughter. When they reached the living room, they settled down onto the floor speechlessly, but they were excited; eyes darted from one to the other.

Anna, in her blue and white middle school uniform, stood by the doorway and made no move to join them, but her eyes were steadily watching. Her eyes and Yoh's finally caught. He shrank when they did, locked onto his fiancé's scrutinizing eyes like a deer in headlights. "You don't have to study for today. I'll go bring you three some tea," she said in a casual yet commanding voice. Then she stepped out of the room.

The moment she did, Yoh's heart cried with relief. He was able to skip Anna's training for the day. It was a torturous training which involved hours of studying into the night, all part of a plan by Anna to get Yoh into an ivy league college so that he may end up with a good paying job and therefore an easy life for her. Of course Yoh never took the training seriously, dozing and daydreaming behind books, but nevertheless, it was still a pain to sit in the same chair for an extended period of time.

"Good thing she let you off the hook. If she found out you got a 31 she probably won't let you have dinner tonight," Ren said while grinning at Yoh, who began to shrink again.

"God, Yoh. You're still a big slacker," Hao said.

"As ever before," Ren added.

"And Anna's still as strict as ever," Hao said, looking back the empty doorway.

"You have no idea," Ren replied. "The woman has such tremendous creativity. She had put Yoh through so many different ways of training in the year you were gone."

"Oh?" Interested, Hao leaned closer towards Ren, "Tell me about it."

"No no!" Yoh covered his ears and shook his head. "Please don't remind me!" He looked like a helpless animal, but the two ignored him anyway. Ren gave every last detail of everything he recalled of Anna's training to Hao and Yoh occasionally squirmed from the words, but they were comfortable being together. They chatted away and before they knew it, it was dinner time. They had dinner, which all three prepared together. It was an act of mercy for Yoh, the usual cook of the house. Afterwards they rested in the living room and soon it was time for Ren to leave.

They said their goodbyes and just as the purple-haired boy was about to step away, Hao called out, "Wait, Ren. I forgot to tell you something." Ren looked back and quirked a brow. "Can you come over after school tomorrow?" Ren turned around and gave him a funny look. So did Yoh. "But aren't your grandparents coming over tomorrow?" Ren asked.

"Yeah, but they said they want you to come over," Hao replied casually.

Ren was surprised. Even though he had been friends with the Asakura brothers for a long time, he didn't really know their grandparents too well. Yoh's grandparents were a bit reserved, not exactly the type to show their face to their grandsons' friends. He couldn't fathom why they would want to see him. Yoh seemed just as surprised but didn't say anything because his brother was the last to visit their grandparents in Izumo.

Ren slowly nodded, knowing Hao wouldn't lie to him, and Hao smiled in return. Ren's grin returned to his face. 'That's even better,' he thought. Now he could have more time to see Hao. "See you tomorrow," he said, then turned to Yoh and added, "I'll come by to pick you up tomorrow. Don't be late!"

"I won't!" Yoh called back.

"That's what you say all the time."

"I really won't this time!" Yoh replied but the boy was already out of sight.

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So…what is it that Yoh's grandparents want with Ren anyway… Just to let you know, this is where the story truly begins 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King

Within the Heart

The next morning Yoh was late as usual. Ren waited in the living room for Yoh to get ready. He tapped his foot impatiently on the hardwood floor. When Yoh finally appeared stumbling down the hallway in his open shirt and uncombed hair, Ren grabbed him by the arm and started pulling him towards the door. It was already time for the students to go inside; there was no way they can make to school on time. However, even in their state, Yoh refused to budge, pulling the other way.

"Wait," he cried desperately. "I need to make Anna's breakfast or she'll get mad!" He twisted to free his arm from Ren, but the other boy latched on. "I don't care!" the shorter boy shouted. His patience had gone out the window. He didn't care what his friend had to say. All he wanted to do was drag him out and speed run to school. As a result they ended in a tug-of-war, each side pulling to a standstill.

"What are you two doing?" Hao chuckled as he walked into the living room. The two boys snapped their heads towards Hao.

"I need to make Anna's breakfast!"

"We're late for school!"

Hao blinked for a moment then said in a casual voice, "It's okay, I'll take care of that." Yoh immediately stopped struggling. Feeling the resistance die down, Ren also stopped pulling. They disarmed each other.

"Hey, are you sure?" Yoh asked with an uncertain look. He knew it was his responsibility and would rather not drag anyone else into doing it, but really he'd love more than anything to have the task taken off his hands.

"Sure," Hao nodded and grinned, which caused the little brother's eyes to sparkle. Yoh clasped his hands together and prepared to bend down and kneel, but Ren quickly hooked his arms around him, refusing to let him drop any further. "C'mon Yoh, do that some other time. We have to get to school now!" The urgency hit him and Yoh scrambled out the front door with Ren in tow.

"Thank you so much big brother----!"

"Thanks for the help, Hao!"

The two waved back as they sped down the dirt road. Hao happily waved back at them. When they were out of sight, the grin dropped from his face like it had been waiting to collapse. Hao sighed in relief. He didn't need to look Ren in the eye today; it was what he had been afraid of all morning.

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In the small neighborhood of Funbari, two boys sped down the streets like racers on a racetrack. Dust swirled behind them and children playing out in the street jumped out of their way. Strings of complaints from angry parents echoed behind them. Yoh winced. He knew it was entirely their fault but they were in too much trouble to slow down or stop and apologize.

It wasn't the first time he and Ren were late. It was one of many times since the semester began and all had blame lying with Yoh. Half the times he couldn't wake up and the others involved Anna, training or breakfast. Yoh wasn't concerned of his lateness though. It's not like he's been building a good reputation at school. His friend, however, was a whole different case. Top of the class, good relations with teachers, Ren was on his way to being the top student, and Yoh wanted to make sure he wasn't the one to cost him the opportunity.

Yoh tried many times to convince Ren that he can go to school by himself, but it never succeeded. Ren was such a loyal friend. Yoh looked over at his friend. Ren was awfully quiet this morning. During this time, Ren would usually be scolding his head off at him. "Ren, what's wrong?" Ren turned his head over, stared at Yoh from the corner of his eye for a moment, then looked back down.

The boy hated causing concern for his friend but this time he couldn't help it because something was really bothering him. He looked up at Yoh again and this time he could see his friend's worry had double folded. Ren let out a sigh. He wasn't that great at sharing his feelings. "It's just…" he began. "have you noticed that Hao seems a bit different?"

This morning the boy noticed the older twin dodging eye contact with him and the night before, Hao's laughter just didn't sound the way it used to; it was a lot more restrained. Ren wasn't sure if it was worth troubling over. He knew he was sensitive and might catch things that were irrelevant.

"Don't worry, Ren. I'm sure he has his reasons."

And there it was again, Yoh and his 'things will work out' attitude. Sometimes Ren finds it a bit too irresponsible of a thing to say, but he had to admit, whenever Yoh does say it, it gives him a strange calming effect. Ren nodded. Maybe Hao's behavior had nothing to do with him or Yoh after all.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

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A bit short, but necessary character development


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King

Within the Heart

Yoh and Ren made it to school just in time. In reality they were a few minutes late and usually that meant the gates would be closed, however, when they got there today, not only were the gates still open but they found the guarding teacher with his back to the opening. Silva, the gym teacher, was busy yelling at a student, probably a trouble maker. The two took the opportunity to slip through the school gates. When they got closer, they saw it was Horohoro the brawny teacher was talking to.

The blue-haired boy saw them, staring straight at the tip-toeing pair. Fortunately, Horohoro hadn't made any big movements so the man didn't notice. Suddenly, Horohoro grinned and winked at the two. He turned his head up, craning his neck to look eye-to-eye with the tall teacher. His mouth opened and closed, saying something inaudible to Yoh and Ren at their distance. But whatever it was, it got Silva flaring. The gym teacher scolded Horo animatedly, swinging an arm furiously. With all the teacher's attention on Horo again, Yoh and Ren made a run for the school building.

Once they were inside, they quickly changed shoes, a routine common to Japanese schools. Then they made a mad dash through the already empty hallway.

"Horohoro sure saved us back there," Yoh grinned, laughing in his usual way.

"Who cares. No one asked him to help."

Yoh laughed again. Ren couldn't understand it. It wasn't the first time Horohoro helped them. If it was just Yoh then he'd understand it since the two were known to be friends, but many times the blue-haired teen would extend his hospitality even to him. When Ren felt he had already made clear that he wanted nothing to do with Horo or anyone other than Yoh; at times like these, Ren became confused.

They sat through first period with nothing much happening. When the teacher saw them coming in late, the teacher being the uptight history teacher Marco, was about to send the late comers out in the hall, but when he saw it was the treasured honor student Ren, he cut the punishment short to a few warnings and simply told the boys to sit down. This of course, caused some angry stares and groans. Ren ignored them.

At the beginning of second period, Horohoro appeared at the door with a goofy grin. Silva was there to escort him. He explained to the teacher that he had to 'borrow' Horo to 'set things straight' for the 'troubled' student. Apparently, what Horo said to Silva was no little thing. "It's about time," their teacher replied casually then shooed Horo back to his seat. The lesson resumed.

The periods went by and finally lunch period came. Ren and Yoh bought bread and drinks from the school store. They ate by the classroom window as they always do. There were better places than the comparatively small opening in the stuffy classroom, like the school lawn and the benches scattered about the school grounds, but those places were usually crowded and Ren didn't like that. Yoh agreed as well, claiming those places were too noisy for his afternoon nap.

There was also the rooftop. The place is usually empty, but from time to time, the more shady students of the school would hang out up there doing who knows what. Yoh and Ren thought it would be better to avoid the place. The window wasn't so bad and the two weren't picky, but hanging out in a place so easily seen does have a down side.

"Hi Yoh-kun. Hi Ren-kun."

It was Manta and Horohoro. They moved happily over to the two. "Hey Manta," Yoh grinned. Ren nodded at the shorter boy. Horo shot Yoh a hand-sign which Yoh gladly returned, then he did what the group all feared, provoke Ren. "He---y Mr. honor student." Horo said bending down so his face was placed tauntingly in front of Ren's.

The other two shivered. Ren hated being called that. One time Horo irritated Ren so much that he jammed Horo's head in the incinerator. It wasn't funny. That time, Horo decided to bother Ren when they were having cleaning duty to take burnable trash to the incinerator. Even though the fire wasn't lit inside, from Ren's expression, Manta recalled, he looked as though it didn't matter whether the fire was there or not. Manta moved uneasily between the two. Ren glared dangerously at Horo.

"er…calm down you guys." He tugged at both their shirt sleeves. Ren looked down. Manta gave him a weak smile. "hmph!" Ren crossed his arms and turned away, deciding it wasn't worth it. Horohoro just wouldn't stop bothering him. It was another part of Horo that Ren couldn't understand. 'It's his way of showing he wants to be friends,' Yoh explained once, but Ren was skeptical. He sighed heavily.

"Ue heh heh…" Yoh patted his friend's shoulder to console him. Then he asked Manta and Horo, "So what's up you guys? What did you have for lunch?" The two immediately looked away, at their feet, out the window.

"Oh nothing." They said in unison.

"Just something that my mom made…"

"Just something that my sister made…"

Yoh hit the spot; they sounded like they really didn't want to talk about it. 'Poor Manta,' Yoh thought. He knew Manta's mom regularly made his lunch, to make up for the lost time they couldn't spend together Yoh guessed, but the problem was his mom's cooking. It was atrocious. Yoh had the opportunity of experiencing it once. He always secretly wondered if Manta's stunted growth had anything to do with it.

'And poor Horo,' Yoh gave Horo a look of pity. His sister was always training him like the way Anna trained Yoh, except Horo's sister went to the extreme of controlling what Horo ate. The blue-haired teen was always coming in with bad tasting health foods. Yoh still remembered the deep sea fish eyes Horo brought in. A good source of protein…

The two always ate in secrecy, afraid to let others find out and joke about it. They trusted Yoh so sometimes they would laugh about it with him when it wasn't so bad. Today, however, Yoh saw it wasn't the case.

"Anyway," Horo shook his head, dispersing his head of whatever memory he had of his lunch. He looked at Ren and said, "That jerk Lyserg was looking for you."

"That jerk Lyserg is right behind you."

"Uwa!" Horo jumped around to see Lyserg standing behind him. "Don't do that!" Horo screamed. "Remind me to pay you back for saying that," the green haired council member said calmly. "Jeanne-sama had always taught us not to let the bad ones go unpunished." Horo's blood boiled. "Who are you to judge me!" he shouted. "And you're the one who's always bothering Ren, trying to drag him into that cult of yours!"

"Hey!"

Lyserg immediately lost his temper. Whenever it came to defending his council's honor, he was always ready. Sure, his council may be governing the schools with an iron fist, disposing of trouble makers almost instantly and brushing off opposing ideas, but their leading president was the gem within the severity. He was ready to do anything to make her ideals come true. Lyserg stopped himself and placed a smug smile on his face, the one he learned from the other council members. He didn't need to deal with that idiot, Horohoro, he thought.

"It's just that Ren-kun is a perfect candidate for becoming a member of the student council," he began. "It doesn't hurt to try." Lyserg shrugged then grinned. 'Trying' wasn't exactly the right word, Horo thought; it was more like 'stalking', but he brushed him off anyway. "Whatever," Horo shrugged. From the way Lyserg narrowed his eyes, he knew the boy wasn't going to give up easily. 'Anything for the maiden-chan…' he muttered under his breath.

"Oh yeah," Manta beamed. "Since we don't have school tomorrow do you guys wanna watch a movie tonight?"

"Yeah sure," Horo replied. Manta turned to Yoh. "Yoh?" Yoh, being as carefree as he usually was, agreed on the spot. "Lyserg?" Lyserg looked at Manta, then glanced at Horo. Horo caught his eyes. He quickly crossed his arms and turned away, then said, "Yeah, you want to come?" As much as Horo hated the council and Lyserg's snotty attitude, he had to admit he enjoyed the green-haired boy's company when they were not involved with school problems. Outside of school the boy became polite, mild-mannered, and friendly—his real self again.

Yoh smiled at Horo's tamed invitation. Horo might've bickered with Lyserg a lot, but in reality he really liked the guy. And if he had remembered correctly, didn't Horo and Lyserg come from the same middle school. 'hmm…' Yoh pondered to himself.

Lyserg gave them one of his happier smiles. "Sure." Manta returned the smile and now came the hardest part. His eyes moved over to Ren, who as usual, was standing outside of their circle. "Ren?" Ren stared at Manta. He didn't even have to say another word before Ren replied coldly, "No, I won't be coming." Manta's eyes winced and Ren was shocked when he heard how cold his voice sounded. Maybe in his rush to get the words out, he sounded tougher than he wanted, but nevertheless, he didn't mean to hurt Manta.

"I…It's just that I have to go meet Yoh's grandparents after school today…" Ren stuttered.

"Oh…" Manta lightened up.

"Ah, that's right!" Yoh suddenly said. "Ren and I are supposed to meet grandpa after school. Sorry Manta…"

"It's alright, Yoh-kun."

As if on cue, the school bell rang. "Well, gotta go!" Horohoro waved. "I guess it's just the three of us," Manta said. Lyserg nodded as he turned to leave, "Yeah, see you after class." The three left leaving Yoh and Ren in the room. Yoh turned to Ren. He suddenly felt very confused.

"I wonder what grandpa wants with us," he said uncertainly. Ren shook his head. "I don't know."

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We're slowly building up to the main story. Don't let the current lightness of the fic fool you. I suggest you don't get too attached to the happy atmosphere cause this fic will get angsty very soon. To be truthful, there's been already a bunch of revisions. This fic is turning out into something totally different than I have planned. Hmm… 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King

Within the Heart

Yoh waited by the shoe lockers for Ren. It was the end of school and it was time to go home. Yoh wasn't surprised when he found that Ren still wasn't out yet. Being the smartest kid in first year, he probably got called by a teacher to chat or help out. Yoh didn't mind waiting. Ren always waited for him when Yoh had club meeting. Besides, Yoh had his buddies to keep him company.

Yoh, Manta, and Horohoro looked up when Ren appeared in the locker room. The boy stomped over to his shoe case and swung the door open without saying anything to them. "What's eating you, Ren?" Horo chirped. Ren threw his shoes on the floor. "Those damn teachers!" he said heatedly, "How many times do I have to tell them that I'm not interested in tutoring other students!" He changed his shoes hurriedly and shoved the white ones back into the locker.

"That's just one of the downsides to being the smartest student in school." Manta commented jokingly, but Ren shot him a look which made Manta shrink away.

"Don't be so angry, Ren. The teachers couldn't help it because you're so adorable."

Manta screamed. Without any of them noticing, Horo had appeared behind Ren. He was absentmindedly playing with a piece of the shorter boy's hair. 'W..why is he provoking him at a time like this!' Manta thought as he sweated profusely.

The blue haired boy watched with interest as the tongari doubled in size on Ren's head. The next thing he knew, he found himself lying on the floor. "Ow…" he rubbed his bottom, which he realized must be the part that landed first.

"Ue heh heh… Pretty cool, huh?" Yoh laughed. "Ren learned that from his caretaker, Bason." The lazy teenager was leaning against a column of lockers. With his arms crossed he continued, "The last time I got flipped I couldn't stop seeing things spin for a while." Manta laughed weakly with Yoh. Unfortunately for him, he didn't find getting karate flipped by Ren funny. Horo laughed loudly beside him.

Ren felt a lot calmer. Physically taking it out on Horo removed most of the frustration he felt before. Picking up the book bag he left on the floor, he turned to Yoh, "Let's go, Yoh." Yoh gladly responded and picked up his bag to leave. "See you guys." He waved at Manta and Horo. Then he hopped happily towards his friend. The two walked out into the bright afternoon. Manta muttered something beside Horo. Horo turned away after the two forms disappeared completely from his vision. "You said something, Manta?"

"I said you must really like Ren-kun. You've taken quite some abuse from him."

Horo stared blankly at Manta for a moment as if pondering his words. The cheery face had suddenly gone solemn. "He just needs some time…" he replied. "Horohoro-kun?" Manta asked worriedly. He seldom saw his friend look so serious. "Ren just needs more time to warm up to us," Horo continued. "Before you know it, he'll be one of us!" He finished with a bright smile.

"Horohoro-kun…" Manta grinned. "You're such a nice guy."

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There was a light breeze running through the streets of Funbari Hill. The wind carried the scent of new grass and everywhere they turned, they saw signs of green dotting their landscape. It was comforting. During times like these, Ren couldn't help but think life had always been this normal. He would think the future contained more days like these and that he would always be free from the ties of his family.

"Ren!"

"huh?" The boy whirled his head around. "What?" he asked when he saw the face his friend was making. "And I'm supposed to be the one that's spacey," Yoh complained. Ren gave him the eye. Yoh shrugged. "I'm only repeating this one last time: did you figure out what to do with Hao?"

"Yes, I'm going to leave him alone," Ren answered.

"Leave him alone?" Yoh repeated. "You sure? You were pretty upset over him this morning. You sure you don't need to talk to him…" He stopped when he saw Ren shaking his head. "There's no need for that. Like you said, Yoh, he probably needs time to readjust to being around us again." Yoh looked shocked, even though Ren felt certain he didn't say anything too out of ordinary so he asked, "Something wrong, Yoh?"

"n..no...it's nothing…" Yoh turned away. "It's just that you're usually more concerned when it comes to Hao…"

"What are you talking about?" Ren asked, beginning to sound angry. "n..nothing!" Yoh shook his palms frantically, hoping to wave away the topic.

"We're here," Yoh commented as they stepped through the gates that mark the territory of his home. He pulled open the dusty front door and they walked inside. As they did, Yoh shouted towards the shadowed cave of the rest of his house, "I'm home and I got Ren with me!"

There was a silence then Anna appeared at the hallway. Her face was devoid of emotion as usual. "Hi Anna!" Yoh grinned as cheerfully as he could and all that elicited was a slight nod from the blond head. Sometimes Yoh wondered if he would even get a response if he and Anna weren't engaged. "Yohmei-sama and the others are waiting inside."

"What, they're here already?" Yoh said in a tone that showed he wasn't too happy with his grandparents' early arrival. He's close to his grandpa; he's probably closer to his grandpa than his own parents, but it's the work that's always associated with a meeting with his grandpa that he was afraid of. The boys removed their shoes and followed Anna down the hall. She stopped when they reached a pair of sliding doors. It was one of the inn's waiting rooms and a rather extravagant one. Yoh wondered what they were all doing in there. He soon found out.

Anna announced their arrival then opened the doors. She walked in and moved to the side. They followed in but paused when they saw the inside. Yohmei and everybody were all sitting in a formal formation, with the grandparents in the far middle and everyone else off to the side. It was a rare sight for Yoh. He felt tension in the atmosphere. "Bason…" He heard Ren say in shock. Yoh looked to the side and saw that the figure sitting across from Hao was none other than Ren's caretaker.

'What is Bason doing here?' Yoh looked quizzically at the man and tried to catch his eye. He felt Anna tug his arm, pulling him towards the side of the room where Hao was sitting. Confused, Yoh followed her and was about to pull Ren with him when he heard the booming voice of his grandpa. "Tao Ren." The boy jolted from the intensity of the voice. "You may sit down over here." Yohmei pointed to the single cushion that was in the middle of the room.

The boys were becoming more and more confused, but seeing the seriousness everyone seemed to be emitting, they followed the directions and sat at their designated places. Ren felt awkward being in the middle of everyone's line of sight. Yohmei had his eyes closed as if he was thinking of what to say. Ren didn't know Yoh's grandparents that well so he couldn't understand what possibly could be so important for Yohmei to tell him. The grandmother, Bason, and even Hao refused to look him in the eye. His childhood friend had his head down. Strands of long hair obscured his face. Ren really wanted to catch his attention and ask him what was going on.

Yohmei removed his hand from his chin, signaling he was ready to speak. He breathed out a heavy sigh. "This is a decision from both sides' parents." The old man's voice sounded defeated. He still didn't look Ren in the eye. "Nothing that you can say will change this decision." Ren was getting more confused yet more curious by the moment, but a sinking feeling had already started the moment he heard the mention of his parents.

"Because of that, you are to remain loyal to our family."

"You are to remain loyal to Hao."

Ren was about to turn his eyes to Hao at the mention of his friend's name, but suddenly, Yohmei opened his eyes and caught his in a fierce hold. The eyes were so intense that Ren thought he might not be able to withstand it, but he couldn't tear his eyes away. He saw seriousness, sympathy, and most importantly truth in the eyes. He absorbed the words Yohmei said to him.

"Tao Ren, you have been arranged to marry into the Asakura family."

Ren lowered his jaw to speak, but before he even does so, his question was answered.

"You are engaged to our grandson Hao under the Asakura name."

Yohmei saw the dread surface within the boy's eyes, but he didn't stop. He had to deliver the news in place of the missing parents, parents who were too busy to even announce the decision they have made without their children's consent. Yohmei grumbled at the thought. What's done is done. Now, the most important thing was to make sure Ren understood the truth so that he may cope with it.

Ren shook his head so violently in a way so different from his usual calm self that it scared Yoh. "It can't be!" The purple-haired boy rose to his feet despite the rudeness of the act. "Stop joking…" he whispered weakly, waiting for a response from the silent old man. "Y..Yeah…stop joking, gramps," Yoh said from the side. Yohmei looked up at Ren, this time with eyes filled with sympathy that couldn't be faked. He told him, "It's the truth, Ren. Your parents and Hao's parents already agreed to this."

"He's telling the truth, Bocchama!"

Wide golden eyes turned to Bason. The large man who sat hunched over and defeated was holding back tears. It was a dismal sight for Ren who always received nothing but smiles from the man. "I heard it from the master this morning. All your things have already been moved here by his orders..."

Ren dropped to his knees. There was no point in denying because he knew Bason would never lie to him.

Yoh had become rebellious from the news, throwing his hands off to the side and loudly questioning his grandfather. Both Yohmei and Anna were tending to him. Off to the side, Yoh's grandmother wiped her glasses quietly, creating a solemn corner along with the weeping Bason. Ren felt like he should be crying too, but no tears would surface from his wide open eyes. They wandered around like a frantic animal's and then his eyes finally carried him to the lone figure sitting composed within the chaos of the room.

His eyes met with Hao's.

'You knew about this, didn't you…'

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Welcome to the great turning point. From here on the angst begins. Hahaha.

I was having trouble putting everything down in words. Also, the story is turning out different from the script. I actually handwrote a script for this story, but I'm hardly following it anymore. I slipped in an extra word here an extra thought there and the story is turning out different. Well, you know what that means, it'll take me longer to get chapters out. Sigh…I'm even thinking of changing the ending…


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King

Note: Drastic personality changes for both the Asakura and Tao parents. Sorry, I had to make them evil for this story to happen

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Within the Heart

'I thought I was finally free from my parents…'

'…how could I have been so naïve…'

The boy sulked to himself. His head was buried in his arms. He sat on the floor in the corner of a room, his room, in fact, beginning this day. Cardboard boxes of his belongings cluttered the room. He hadn't bothered to unpack them. He didn't even care that the long set sun left the room pitch black. All he worried about were the thoughts running rampant through his head.

'I thought my parents' control over me was gone when Bason brought me to Japan!'

'How could I have been so stupid!'

Ren grabbed his head in frustration. He tried hard not to remind himself of his parents. His parents were cold, stoic towards him. Many times he had to question why they even gave birth to him. Bason, the only one who cared to look his way, didn't stand to watch his warped childhood. The butler pleaded with his father to allow him to study abroad in Japan. He still remembered that his father didn't hesitate for a moment to send him away to a foreign country; it was the only good to having an uncaring father.

He and Bason spent the last ten years living peacefully in Japan, with no whatsoever contact from his parents except for the money that came monthly and in abundance. Perhaps his father thought everything could be solved with money, Ren thought sourly. For the past ten years his life had been so quiet, so normal that he almost thought he could get away and reach out to the world again like a normal person. Almost.

Now that his parents' influence shadowed him once again, putting him back into their claws, he knew it was over. The ten years of freedom has come to an abrupt end, but it wasn't sorrow that Ren was mostly feeling. He knew not to expect any good from his parents. Even during his most peaceful periods of life, he was wary of his parents. He had learned to do that a long time ago. His parents never treated him like a human being so he could understand why they'd make a decision as irrational as to marry their son to another male, but more importantly right now, Ren was interested in their motive.

The door slid open to his room, sending a strong beam of yellow light to his eyes. Ren winced and shaded himself with his hand. "Sorry…" Ren recognized the voice. It was his friend Yoh. He couldn't see his face in the blinding light. After a while he heard the door slide shut and the room was enveloped again in darkness.

Yoh carefully set a tray before him. "You didn't come down to dinner so I brought it up for you." Ren stared at the tray. It made him realize he hadn't eaten anything for the last eight hours. He couldn't have even if he tried. Everything seemed so bad at the moment. Yoh settled down beside him. He let them sit in silence that way for a while.

"I'm sorry," he finally whispered.

Ren jerked, surprised at the apology. Then he replied, "It's not your fault, Yoh." If anyone should be apologizing, it shouldn't be Yoh, but his parents. Another silence stretched between them.

"I..I asked grandpa why our parents did this…" He paused as if uncertain as to whether Ren wanted him to continue or not. Ren lifted his head and urged him to continue. "Why?"

Yoh looked him in the eye as if questioning whether he was ready for the news. The lax boy rarely looked so serious. Ren knew it wasn't going to be good. Yoh began.

"Both of our parents are the owners of a big company…"

That's right. Both Yoh and his parents were the CEOs of a large company—his father in China and Yoh's mother in Japan. Nothing good ever came out of their being a business tycoon's children. Yoh's parents were just as uncaring towards their own sons. However ironically, it was also this fact that he, Yoh and Hao had met, setting two of the most important friendships in his life.

"Recently, they found that they couldn't expand their companies anymore on their own so they decided to form a merger."

Ren could see that coming. Their parents spent so much time devoted to their work. It was no surprise that they reached their limit. But Ren still couldn't connect two and two. What did this have to do with his and Hao's marriage? Yoh answered that for him.

"They wanted to make sure the merger will remain strong so they wanted a part of their families to be connected…"

Yoh didn't need to finish. From those last words, Ren already understood. He cursed his ability to see it so clearly because he understood them all too well. His knuckles turned white from clenched fists. 'Were they merely dolls for them to control after all?' was the one thought resounding in his head. First they marry off his sister, Jun, when she was just seven and Yoh got engaged to Anna by his parents—all for their purposes. Now that they ran out of children to marry, they'd engage their two sons?

The boy was sick of it. He wanted to stand up, punch through the walls, and curse out at his parents, but strangely, his body was too weak to stand. His voice trembled when he tried to speak and tears ran down his face. That was the last straw. As if reacting to an old stimulus, he broke down and cried his heart out. He felt Yoh's arms lifting him and settling his head onto his shoulder. They looked like they were hugging and he was crying his eyes out on Yoh. However, for once he didn't care how he looked, but just welcomed the warmth radiating from Yoh's surprisingly warm body.

Yoh held him gently and patiently sat with him as he cried. The older boy ran a hand softly down his back as if it was calming the violent quivers his choked sobs were sending back. He relaxed considerably and soon he was able to hear what the other boy was saying.

"Don't worry…"

"I'll protect you."

Yoh kept whispering those words as the seemingly endless stream of tears flowed out of him. And somewhere behind that cloud of sadness he was feeling, it hit him that he never knew another person's touch can be so warm. It was comforting, so comfortable that he soon drifted to sleep.

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Looks around…Yay! You guys have guts for reading this far and not getting turned off by the idea of Hao and Ren marrying!

It's a big issue these days…same sex marriage. Unfortunately this fic doesn't really deal with the issue…you will see why soon. Thank you all the reviewers! You know I appreciate your reviews. They're really fun to read. Waves. Hello Yu-chan! She's my buddy over at DeviantArt. Now I'm kinda embarrassed. I'm not as confident in my writing skills as my art skills. But…I do feel like I'm improving somewhat…do you think so? Or maybe I'm just evolving backwards to an even worst level…haha. Well, see you next time.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King

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Within the Heart

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**A quick summary** to jog your memory: Hao, Yoh, and Ren are childhood friends who grew up together. Right at the beginning of high school, Hao had to move away to a boarding school while Yoh and Ren stayed in Funbari Hill. Now one year has passed and Hao returns bringing good times of the past along with terrible news of his and Ren's engagement for their parents' benefit. After hearing the news, Ren didn't take it so well and Yoh stayed with him all night to comfort him…

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The next morning, Ren woke up confused and disoriented in a room he wasn't familiar with. It took him a while before the events of the day before quietly unfolded within his head. As they did, the cheery looking room lit by the morning sun suddenly grew a few shades darker. The thought of retreating so he didn't need to face the new day crossed his mind, but only for a second. He was much stronger than that.

Strangely, he couldn't remember the events of the few hours before he fell asleep, but he woke up finding himself neatly tucked within a warm futon and blanket. He got up and rolled up the Japanese bed. It looked strange as the single orderly object in the cluttered room. There wasn't a clock in there so he couldn't tell what time it was. He decided to find out in another part of the house.

Once he was downstairs, he remembered seeing a clock in Yoh's kitchen so he headed towards it. There, he found a bright orange clock that read 9:30 and he also found himself face to face with Anna. Anna made no motion as she silently stared at him with her grey eyes. Ren let her as he too began examining her in return.

Anna looked as expressionless as usual. She had on a plain white apron and head wrap. She held a pair of chopsticks by the stove. He looked beyond her hand at the simmering sausages in the frying pan. 'Breakfast?' he thought. For as long as he could remember, that was Yoh's job. Although it was not traditional for the male to cook in a Japanese household, it had been agreed between the engaged couple that Yoh would take care of the cooking.

It was more like Yoh got forced to do it, though. Ren felt a light sense of glee lift from within him. Then his vision brought him back to the other's face, which still remained unmoved. He remembered, as he stared into the unfaltering grey eyes, that just like him, Anna had been engaged to Yoh without her knowing. It was something about the Asakura family wanting to acquire Anna's ability, the power to read minds, if he remembered correctly.

Just like him, she was another pawn of the family. He wondered how she felt as he thought of his own turmoil in his heart, but soon he recalled the fleeting glances she made occasionally and the way she stiffened around Yoh. 'It didn't matter,' he thought, 'because she was in love with Yoh.' A small smile crept up his face and to his surprise, the girl's lips mirrored his. He must remind himself to keep his thought at bay when around her.

"Have a seat," she commanded then turned back to the stove. He moved to the center of the kitchen and took a seat in one of the wooden chairs. 'I'm going to fill one of these chairs regularly from now on,' the thought suddenly hit him and if he could ignore the fact that he was engaged to Hao, it was kind of exciting.

"Ren,"

"Yes?"

There was a slight pause. Anna still had her back towards him. "You're one of us now…a part of this family."

There was another pause. Ren waited for her to finish her sentence but she never did. That was all that Anna had to say. She says what she wants and only what she needs to say. He smiled. Ren always thought Anna was scary, mostly due to Yoh's own fear of her, but now he just might have to change his mind.

"Thanks."

A nod.

Two sets of footsteps can be heard coming down the stairs. They both turned to the doorway, knowing it was the two brothers. Yoh walked in with his eyes bulging and mouth agape. "Anna, you're cooking breakfast?!!" That was the initial reaction he had too, Ren thought, although he couldn't carry the same expression as well as Yoh did. Yoh walked up towards Anna and when he moved away Ren immediately became face to face with Hao. Suddenly Ren couldn't keep his eyes at the same level anymore. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make eye contact with Hao.

'Is this what Hao had been feeling all along?'

'It's not his fault that we're both in this position.'

'C'mon it's rude to not look at your friend in the face.'

He looked up and saw a fun, gleeful smile buried between two long strands of hair. It was the same as he always remembered. "Morning," Hao chirped. Feeling reassured Ren returned the greeting in the same cheerful way. The boy walked over to the kitchen table and took his usual seat, the one he always took up until he left the house a year ago. Slightly discomforted, Ren shifted in his seat, but he was soon greeted by Yoh's hand setting down a bowl of miso soup for him.

Yoh had on a big grin and was facing right at Ren. At that point, Ren realized the boy was worried about him. The last events of yesterday became clear again—the embrace, the gentleness, and the kind words. A bright red blush rose in Ren's face. Yoh chuckled then turned to Anna and asked meekly, "er…Anna?"

"Why is there…breakfast?"

A vein popped on the girl's head. The tone of voice and the very words he used to ask the question dissatisfied her. Yoh gulped. It was a bigger reaction than he had hoped for.

"I'm his future sister-in-law now. It's my job to welcome him. Now sit down."

Yoh scrambled to his seat. Breakfast began and a lively conversation was born. Ren found he could chat with either of the boys just as easily as yesterday. Hao hadn't changed the way he acted towards him either. It was as if nothing had happened. In fact, it was more fun this way; now he can be with his two best friends 24/7. Other than the part about getting engaged, the engagement may not be so bad to afterall.

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Well hello again everyone! It's been such a long time since the last update of this story. Before you get angry, I have an explanation; I was busy and writing is really something I don't have a knack for. There's been a hundred something changes in this story from the original script I wrote a year ago so I can't easily copy/type everything either. Well, hope my writing style hasn't changed much. And Happy Holidays to all! 


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